For Want of a Nail
by Persona the ITG
Summary: They're too late. You're with ME now." Lance said. Kitty phased out of his grip, saved the day, and joined the X-men- but what if she didn't? LANCITTY (Previously called 'Shadows and Rockslides')
1. For want of phasing

"They're too late. You're with ME now." Lance said. Kitty phased out of his grip, saved the day, and joined the X-men- But what if she HADN'T phased right then? What would have happened? LANCITTY

* * *

_For want of a nail, the shoe was lost_

_For want of a shoe, the horse was lost_

_For want of a horse, the message was lost_

_For want of the message, the battle was lost,_

_for want of the battle, the kingdom was lost_

_And all for the want of a horse-shoe nail._

* * *

Chapter one- For want of phasing...

* * *

"Daddy?" The girl- the one with long brown hair up in a ponytail- called, as if disbelieving. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she stretched out a hand towards her father.

"Forget them! Come on, I'm bringin' this place down!" The brown-haired boy said. The girl struggled to pull away from him. Fear clouded her mind, and, terrified, she forgot that there was an easy way out of this whole mess.

"You called your gift a curse. If you go with him, I guarantee you, it will be." The redhead told the girl, a tone of pity in her voice.

"Please, Kitty! Listen to her!" The woman called, tears in her eyes as she watched her daughter being pulled away.

"Sweetheart, we love you!" The man, also, had tears in his eyes. Pieces of the school's roof fell down all around him, barely missing him.

"They're too late. You're with me now." The boy told her, yanking the small girl the rest of the way through the hole in the wall. He had made the hole with his strange powers moments before, and now he was leaving Kitty's parents to die.

"Lance! STOP IT!! Let- me- GO!!!" Kitty yelled, trying to pull away. But it was to late. Even as 'Lance' pulled her clear of the hole in the wall, the wall collapsed in on itself, locking Kitty's parents, and Jean (the redhead) in- and Kitty out. Unless... Kitty phased through Lance's grip, and ran back through the wall. Yes, through. Kitty had discovered her new 'gift' just that morning. She had begged her mother to be allowed to go to school- but now she wished she hadn't. Now her parents were dead.

When the wall collapsed, the ceiling of the room had too. Kitty's parents were crushed under the rubble. Kitty backed away from her mother's dead body, the only one visible from under the rubble. She turned and ran, but only made it to just outside of the building's wall before collapsing. She didn't wake up for hours.

Lance bent down, picked Kitty up, turned, and walked away from the building. He didn't stop until he came face-to-face with a woman. He had never seen her before.

"I'd say you've blown your chances at _this_ school, haven't you?" The woman said, not answering his question.

"Who are you?" He asked, holding Kitty more tightly, as if afraid that this unknown person would somehow hurt her.

"Your new advisor. I've made an opening for you at Bayville High. I have much to teach you, my young Avalanche- you AND your little Kitty-cat." The woman said, smirking, She spoke in a voice that hinted at untold secrets.

"I SAID, 'Who are you?!'" Lance repeated angrily. He was prepared to attack this woman if she didn't give him the answers he wanted.

The woman just smirked. "My name is Mystique."

* * *

And that was chapter one of 'For want of a nail', previously called 'Shadows and Rockslides'. 


	2. The alliance was lost

**Chapter Two: The alliance was lost**

"My name is Mystique." The woman said. A flickering light traveled down her body; leaving behind it a blue-skinned, red-haired woman with pale yellow eyes.

Lance stared at her, eyes wide. "Wha-" He broke off, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"It's time for you to gain a permanent residence, Avalanche, and I'm sure your little cat will enjoy having someone who understands what she is going through, don't you think?" Mystique suggested. "To... help her keep her mind off of certain... _untimely_ deaths in the family. And, maybe... she won't figure out who caused them."

Lance considered the options. On one hand, he didn't know anything about this 'Mystique' person. On the other hand... she _did_ have a point.... and he _did_ need a place to stay for awhile... "...So, where _is_ this 'Bayville' place?"

* * *

When Kitty opened her eyes, she was startled to find herself in a room she had never seen before. It had tan walls, which made the room look bright and airy. The only problem with this was that Kitty had a pounding headache. And the words 'bright' and 'headache' do _not_ make a good combination.

She buried her head into the pillow, clenching her teeth against the pain. She tried to think of the answers to the three questions that were running through her head; where was she, why was she where she was, and where could she find some pain reliever for her headache? _'Let's see.... Where am I? In some, like, random room with tan walls and an annoyingly bright window... How did I get here? Well, the last thing I remember is-'_

The door to the room opened, and a short boy with dirty, brown hair walked in. He held a tray full of food in his arms, so he was using his foot to hold open the door as he came through. "Boss-lady!" He whined, "Why do _I_ have to carry the food, yo? The girl came with Avalanche,_he_ should do it!"

A menacing growl came from the hallway, and the boy jumped away from the door, causing it to slam shut. "Fine!" He shouted, "Be that way!" He turned and headed towards her, muttering under his breath all the way. "Stupid... Mean... why do I... Nasty... Beat her up... Stupid Lance..." Or something like that.

Kitty cleared her throat, hoping to catch the boy's attention. She fought the urge to hold her nose. Apparently, not just the boy's hair was dirty. She wagered a guess that he hadn't bathed in a few weeks, and had had some serious workouts during that time.

He looked up, startled. "Ack!" He leaped away from her, somehow managing to fall flat on his rear in the process. The food, steaming hot soup and a few other things, spilled all over him. He sprung back up to his feet, and began doing a funny sort of jig. "Owowowowowowowowow!!!!!" He screamed.

"Oh! I'm, like, TOTALLY sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! Here, hold still! I'll try and get some of that off." After a moment, he finally listened to her and stood still. She took the tray, which he was still holding, out of his arms and gently set it on the nightstand. She then set about trying to get some of the hot soup off of him, which she quickly decided could only be done by removing his shirt- a task that she, understandably, flinched at. "You're going to have to take your shirt off, unless you want to spend the rest of the day with soup all over you."

"What? No way, yo! I'm not takin' my shirt off in front of a girl!" He declared, crossing his arms across his chest. He winced, and quickly returned his arms to his side.

"You'll have to if you want to stop being burnt! That shirt is_covered_ in hot water!" Kitty explained, reaching out to try and lift it over his head.

"NO!!! I won't do it!" He protested, pouting. The expression would have been cute on anyone else, but on him it was pitiful. Oddly enough, it made Kitty want to give him candy and money and a hug and a bath and brush his hair and put him into nice clothes and give him toys, exactly as if he was an adorable little child- which, of course, he wasn't. He was her age, and he most certainly wasn't adorable. But still...

Kitty opened her mouth to ask him when his birthday was, then slammed it shut again. That would have confused the poor guy. "Fine. Leave it on. Burn to a crisp for all I care." She rubbed her forehead, "But do you have any pain medicine? My head is pounding."

The boy gave her an odd look, but turned and hopped to the door. "I'll go get you some, yo. After all, you're a teammate, and we gotta stick together against the X-men."

"What? Team-" But it was to late. The door slammed shut behind him.

"What's going on here?" She wondered.

------------------------

Chapter two! FINALLY! Sorry it took so long... I've been lazy. UU;


End file.
